MP quoting ‘Gang rape is democracy in action’ on Facebook

Posted on May 9, 2013 by gdy2shoez

From ‘MP Zainudin draws flak for posting ‘offensive’ quote’, 9 May 2013, article in Sg Yahoo news.

Member of Parliament Zainudin Nordin has drawn flak for posting on his Facebook page a fantasy author’s quote equating gang rape to the exercise of democracy.  The MP for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC was criticised by people online for being rude, offensive and insensitive after he posted on Monday a quote from “Sword of Truth” fantasy series author Terry Goodkind with the line “Gang rape, after all, is democracy in action.”

The controversial statement prompted a flurry of over 140 comments, most of them expressing outrage. “Even if you did not say that yourself, it is still a very dangerous statement to quote. I simply do not understand why you chose to quote such a thing. Shame on you,” posted Facebook user Joel Yap.

Another Facebook comment by Pauline Leong called the quote “truly, highly offensive” and demanded an apology or explanation from Nordin, while Freya Cyen accused him of being “unable to differentiate democracy, human rights and freedom.”

Nominated Member of Parliament Lina Chiam of the Singapore People’s Party on Wednesday released a statement on the issue, asking Nordin to “retract his statement and apologise to women in Singapore.”

So is spray painting ‘Democracy’ on the Cenotaph. What the quoted writer intended was that no nation should be so ‘democratic’ that your right to free speech or thought turns into action that transgresses basic human rights. In fact, some of the world’s self-proclaimed ‘democracies’ are far from utopian societies. North Korea is the DEMOCRATIC People’s Republic of Korea. The Democratic Republic of Congo is the WORST place to be a mother. The world’s largest democracy India has her recent string of high profile raping, and both Congo and democratic South Africa have been termed ‘rape capitals’ of the world. It may be more accurate, however, to connect gang-raping with Anarchy than democracy, though the vandal who decided to exercise his free will to deface a war memorial clearly mistook one for the other. We may not have people raping others in huddles here, but we do get glimpses of unhinged anarchy at NATAS fairs and K-pop concerts.

But before we decide to ignore Zainudin’s Facebook post because he simply quoted someone else’s provocative analogy and people decided to zoom in on it because ‘rape’ and ‘democracy’ were in the same sentence, there have been people investigated by the POLICE for ‘quoting’ other people on their timelines, except that these were the kind of stuff that our government believes would incite race riots over the island and tarnish this whole ‘democracy’ thing. In 2011, NSman Christian Eliab Ratnam quoted Roy Egan on how ‘Islam is a cxxt that glorifies death’, while another blogger in the same year ‘shared’ a picture of a pig on the Kaaba. Would the police investigate an MP for equating the supposed pinnacle of political systems to the most despicable of crimes against humanity? That’s as likely as me being sodomised in an alley by a bunch of expat louts with a shisha pipe.

Terry Goodkind isn’t the first to allude democracy to gangs and violence. Here are some similar ones from the Quotes About Democracy website:

“A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine.” – Thomas Jefferson

“The terrible tyranny of the majority” – Ray Bradbury

So perhaps using gang-rape as an example is simply a stark exaggeration of the beloved ‘majority wins’ rule, or what our PAP would call the MANDATE of the people. There are plenty of activities that can pass off as ‘democracy in action’ and yet flout all moral codes and decency known to man. Spitting in public, squatting on a toilet seat with dirty shoes, having the whole bus seat to yourself and ‘gang-raping’ your Facebook friends’ news feeds with daily updates on how many km you ran and calories you burnt, for example. Yet we remain cocksure of our ‘democratic’ aspirations, and we cherish those rare moments when we get to protest like a virgin landing a threesome on his first date, all this coming from a country languishing in the 149th place in press freedom,

Postscript 11 May 13: Zainudin soon apologised for offending anyone with Goodkind’s quote, though he’s not taking too kindly to a certain ‘Ganga’ who posted his photo with the controversial line next to his face, slamming the blogger for being ‘mischievous’ and selective in his abstraction of the quote. His latest FB post as of 11 May was:

Yesterday, I played football with our NYP colleagues for the ITIS-NUSS Staff Tournament. I played one half and managed to score a goal. We won 4-1 against TP. Congrats to our NYP Staff team.

No mention by the MP if it was in fact an OWN GOAL.

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Filed under: 2011, 2013, Bloggers, Politicians, Sex, Violence | Tagged: , , , , | 1 Comment »

Peggy Heng parking at a handicapped lot

Posted on March 24, 2013 by gdy2shoez

From ‘Confessions:Celeb blogger parked at handicap lot deliberately’, 23 March 2013, article in asiaone.com

In a Facebook confession reported by Stomp recently, local blogger and model Peggy Heng talks about parking at a handicapped lot because the rest of the lots had been taken up by illegally parked cars. In an earlier report, the blogger had drawn criticism when she produced a video to promote a dating event. She then gained attention again after undergoing plastic surgery to further her career.

A Stomp reader Kelly saw Peggy’s facebook posting and said:

“Blogger Peggy Heng proudly declared parking at a handicapped lot.”

Here is the full post on Peggy’s facebook page:

“Parking at the handicapped lot at my house carpark now because of too many cars parking illegally here (even when only season parking is allowed for overnight). “I’ve been too kind… As much as I can, I try to refrain from calling the authorities to do something about it. “But these inconsiderate people just gotta go all out and leave me with not even ONE lot around the blocks. “Good luck and happy summon day :) “

Peggy later published a furious ‘clarification’ to explain how she had sought permission by the HDB to park in that ‘stupid handicapped lot’ and that she was entitled to a parking space being a season parking holder. Having returned home at 3 am I’d suppose if you’re desperate for a bath and sleep, an empty slot usually reserved for the disabled is as tantalising as a warm bed. But probably not as irresistible as posting about it on Facebook.

Most people wouldn’t brag about how they scored a handicapped lot. For one, it makes you look like an uncaring swine. Second, even if forced by circumstance to park in a disabled lot (if you see smoke coming out of your house), at the risk of being fined $50 for it, you should have the decency to repark your car the very next morning and keep your fingers crossed that nobody noticed for that short few hours. It’s possible that not a single disabled person in your neighbourhood drives, though you’d still need a mandatory space to allow for that occasional one popping by for a visit.

According to the Code on Accessibility, that’s about 1 disabled spot for every 50 lots. For some, a fine isn’t a sufficient deterrent because rich Mercedes motorists can easily afford it. Some are also known to reuse handicapped labels once they’ve recovered mobility, or create their own fake labels altogether. It may not even be inconsiderate or imposter drivers; you could have rubbish bins or panel railings blocking the area, defeating the purpose of disabled lots in the first place.  It would also be awkward if you’re forced to park your wedding limo in a disabled lot while picking up your bride, only to come back to the sight of someone threatening to smash your windows with crutches. You also wouldn’t want to run into trouble with THIS guy below. Yes, the one with arm tattoos.

How Audi-cious!

Illegal parking aside, the other bane of civility is the abuse of disabled toilets. Statistically speaking, the chance of a disabled person using a toilet is higher than one parking a car. The intrusion into one’s intimate right to relieve oneself is as mean as taking his rightful parking space or priority seat. It’s probably OK to use handicapped loos if you’re about to shit your pants or you need to get changed quickly and the rest of the cubicles are either occupied or choked with stinky floaters. But more often than not disabled, spacious toilets are used more for a different sort of relief (the sexual kind) than that which they’re intended for, yet people get fined for stealing parking spaces, but get off scot-free for doing their dirty business on toilet seats and grab bars other than taking a dump. You may not get fined for sleeping on priority seats, but your reputation may be ruined forever.

Some people, never having to hobble around on one leg in their entire lives, question why the disabled should be given so much love and attention when it comes to toilets. It’s an unsympathetic, economical question to ask, none delivered with more fine cussing than another celebrity blogger, Xiaxue. In a controversial 2005 post about her brother getting blasted by someone in the disabled loo, she asked:

So tell me … our government spent millions of taxpayers’ money to build so many facilities for the physically disabled, and only they are allowed to use it?

Exclusive use would be possible if we didn’t have so many damn people around. We tend to forget that these disabled may not be permanently so; anyone of us would rue the day we hogged such spaces for our own selfish ends when we fracture a femur or suffer blisters on all our toes. Enforcement can only do so much to create the inclusive society that we are so fond of promoting. In a ‘me-first’, overcrowded Singapore that is hooked on automobiles despite an extensive network of public transport, we still have plenty to catch up in terms of graciousness. I believe the disabled and the able-bodied can get along and share public spaces with a little give and take; If I’m wheelchair bound I wouldn’t mow down kids playing on the MRT ramp when they should jolly well use the steps. Likewise, if I’m an able person and someone with their entire head in a cast asks if he could cut my taxi queue, I would gladly oblige. Let’s not argue about entitlements to the point that our infirmed start rigging their wheelchairs with battering rams and flamethrowers shall we.

Filed under: 2013, Bloggers, Fines, Justice system/Lawsuits, Motorists | Tagged: , , , , | Leave a Comment »

PM Lee: We can’t be the nanny

Posted on March 17, 2013 by gdy2shoez

From ‘Govt will need to be more open, says PM Lee’, excerpts from interview with Washington Post, 17 March 2013, Sunday Times

…In the last election, your party lost some seats. You will have to manage a political transition with a younger generation, which expects more.

It’s a different generation, a different society, and the politics will be different… We have to work in a more open way. We have to accept more of the untidiness and the to-ing and fro-ing, which is part of normal politics.

Is that hard for you?

It is a major change, of course, which we hope we will be able to navigate safely over a period of time and not suddenly.

To make Government more transparent and open to social media?

It’s completely open to social media. Previously, everything was orderly and predictable. Now there are many more voices, views and interests… and the outcome is a lot more difficult to predict, and the reactions are more difficult to judge.

You grew up as the son of the most famous man in this country.

I did not choose my father, but I am proud of him.

You decided recently to allow gambling in Singapore. Has it been a boost for the economy?

For a long time, we fought in principle against casinos. Finally, we were persuaded it’s big business and if we were not in it, someone else would be. It was becoming increasingly more difficult to shield our people from gambling. We can’t be the nanny.

Economically it’s worked out very well.

Very well. The social impact – we’ll have to wait a few years to see.

‘To-ing’ and ‘Fro-ing’ is a terrible phrase to use, though it’s been around since the mid 80′s. It’s the kind of piggybacking term that gives readers the impression that there is lack of a better word. But there ARE better words. How about ‘back and forth’, ‘fluctuation’ or if you want to be more technical, ‘oscillation’? To-ing and fro-ing sounds like it was plucked out of a Dr Seuss book, and the editor of this interview abstract forgot about the ‘slicing and dicing’ to make our PM’s response sound more, well, respectable. Nobody uses it when they chat online. Imagine: ‘Hey, what you doin’/ ‘I’m doing some to-ing and fro-ing for the big day’/ Wow cool!:)” Minus the hyphen and you have couplet that reads like an onomatopoeia for someone jumping on a broken trampoline. ‘Ding donging’, the current office term for back and forth communication (often the inefficient kind), doesn’t sound much worse than to-ing, fro-ing. The English language as we know it, used by politicians, is GO-ing. It’s ‘humpty-ing dumpty-ing’ towards its great fall.

But what really caught my attention from this feature is the ‘erm..’ moment when PM Lee remarked that the government was ‘completely open to social media’. COMPLETELY. Maybe it’s a classic show and tell to the American media to convince them that PAP’s becoming a more transparent and tolerant authority, but Singaporeans who have some inkling of the government’s REAL take on social media would know better. It’s a total about-face from what our PM said about cyberspace some years ago, that it was called a place for  ‘cowboy towns’ to fester. I think it’s quite obvious here that the government is still treading gingerly on new media with unspoken reservations, and ready to strike with the brute turn of the wrench when necessary. Just ask SDP’s Vincent Wijeysingha, who only recently had to pay damages to Tan Chuan Jin for defamatory FB postings. Or Alex Au, who had to apologise and post lawyer-crafted apologies countless times on his blog. Even commenting about a void deck wedding would cost you your job in a government organisation.

Maybe we need to consider what if the US isn’t that oblivious to our experience with social media as we assume they are, instead of telling them a goosebumps-inducing fairy tale like, well, a NANNY would at bedtime. ‘Open’ in the sense of having a Facebook and Twitter account perhaps, but not so when it comes to ‘free speech’, and no one knows more about free speech than the Americans. I’m sure there are other ways of skirting difficult questions than, well, telling people what they want to hear, that we’re less of the nanny-state that we’ve become renown for. I’m just surprised the interviewer didn’t bring up the existing chewing gum ban as an argument against that. But that would result in too much, ugh, to-ing and fro-ing.

Filed under: 1980s, 2013, Bloggers, Justice system/Lawsuits, Politicians | Tagged: , , , , | 4 Comments »

Sumiko Tan feeling sorry for cyber meanies

Posted on November 25, 2012 by gdy2shoez

From ‘Cyber meanies’, 25 Nov 2012, article by Sumiko Tan, Sunday Lifestyle

…Being the unwitting target of online attacks can leave one bruised, devastated and bewildered. Even if these comments are not directed at you, reading them makes one feel sullied, somehow. Cyber meanies love people in the news (and those who report the news), but their vitriol is also aimed at strangers. The flaming usually starts when someone posts a comment that rubs a meanie the wrong way.

In the Singapore context, politics – in particular anything remotely supportive of the People’s Action Party government – is guaranteed to get you whacked. So are sympathetic views on, say, foreign talent or dolphins in captivity or eating shark’s fin. Pre-Internet, I never realised there was so much spite and venom around.

…So why do people become so horrible when they go online? Some, I suppose, are plain horrible anyway. It’s just that when you meet such folk in real life, you run a mile away from them, but on a forum, their post stares right at you like a personal mail. The anonymity of cyberspace is often cited as the primary cause of bad online behaviour.

…The most effective approach, in my book, is to ignore abusive posts. More than anger, the cyber meanie who penned them deserves your pity. Imagine this spite-filled person sitting in front of his computer thinking of ways to put down people he doesn’t even know, and in the most mischievous way possible. Sad, no?

So, feel sorry for how he’s filling his mind with evil thoughts and wasting his life, then switch off your computer, go for a run, read a good book, or have a meal with a loved one. Cyberspace may be one of mankind’s best inventions, but sometimes, the real world is safer, saner and nicer.

Many mean things and rumours have been said about Sumiko Tan online, and I wonder if this article was written in response to how bloggers have cyber-bullied her. Even the word ‘meanie’ is too kind, too cute, to describe flamers online. It’s the kind of term you use on Gargamel, Grumpy from Snow White or an evil Care-bear, not the pimply slouch behind the screen rubbing his hands in crackling laughter everytime he uncovers some dirt on a celebrity journalist.

She was the target of animal lovers when she defended eating sharks’ fin soup, and many have chided the quality and banality of her work, included myself on her repetitive whining about growing old. More recently, a certain Lynn from Lianain Films took offence at her rose-tinted take on Singapore’s Golden Age, to which Sumiko responded ‘Thanks for your e-mail and link to your interesting and well-written blog‘. Nevermind that Lynn used language such as ‘What kind of shitty logic is this?’ I suspect the woman didn’t even read the damn thing.

Any public figure, be they strangers to anonymous netizens or not, should be prepared to get ravaged online. Some choose to gather constructive feedback about what is being said behind their backs however nasty these may be, while others, like Sumiko, decide it’s better to just disappear from social media altogether. In 2009, she wrote that she would never get a Facebook account because she has better things to do with her life, like attempting a sucker punch article on cyberbullying for example. She can’t run away from the backhanded sympathy for the ‘evil-doers’ though. Trolls do read books, run or ‘have meals with loved ones’ too. And then some. In 2o05, she wrote a piece called ‘See no evil, blog no evil’, in which described cyberspace as ‘a malicious, nasty toxic place’. Well in many ways she’s right, especially when it comes to racist Facebook posts, tasteless insults and people losing their jobs, even lives, over tactless posts. 7 years on and she remains blissfully content with her Luddite ‘Pre-Internet’ ways, while the bloggers, those who trawl forums, the keyboard warriors ‘waste their lives’ away (Some actually earn advertising pittance from writing about her, so not all is wasted). In the meantime she dispenses yet another article about whether it’s ethical to check out her husband’s SMSes, or something trivial about birthdays, eye bags or wrinkles. And the people who find her boring and lame continue to add to her readership by banging on about how boring and lame she is.

But instead of trashing Sumiko again for being defensive against online critics, let’s acknowledge that running away from cyberspace and what strangers think of her is her prerogative, just like it’s your prerogative whether or not to read her column. There are worse things that could befall horrible, vile ‘evil-doers’ if they cast aspersions at public figures online. They could have their Facebook pics exposed like what Xiaxue did, or have Ministers issuing them lawyers’ letters for defamation. I doubt Sumiko would take legal action against anyone besmirching her reputation, though she would have no qualms making fun of her husband H for the whole world to see. She also doesn’t shy away from expressing her dislike for powerful women like Hilary Clinton. I suppose it’s only fair that not everyone is going to be too impressed by you either.

The article ended with a note that Sumiko’s column ‘would resume in January’, probably taking a break from naysayers, bosses and anyone looking forward to her articles just to take a crack at her for the attention (Guilty as charged). Here’s wishing her a peaceful troll-free Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Filed under: 2012, Bloggers | Tagged: , , | 2 Comments »

Daniel Ong calling neighbour Sivalin-ganam style

Posted on October 26, 2012 by gdy2shoez

From ‘He made fun of my name’, 26 Oct 2012, article by Foo Jie Ying, TNP

A dispute between neighbours over renovation noise led to one of them making a police report against the other, claiming that the latter had made fun of his name. In the report made on Oct 16, he said: “By making fun and changing my family surname, he is insulting and degrading the Indian culture.”

In an interview with The New Paper On Tuesday evening, Mr Sivalingam Narayanasamy, 55, said: “What he has done is to change my surname.” The other party in the dispute is former radio deejay Daniel Ong, 36, who is now known as a celebrity cupcake-shop owner with his wife, Miss Singapore-Universe 2001 Jaime Teo.

Mr Sivalingam showed TNP a letter purportedly written by Mr Ong to him, in which Mr Ong allegedly made fun of his name. In the letter, Mr Ong referred to Mr Sivalingam as “Sivalin-ganamstyle” and added, “That’s my new nickname for you… cool, huh?”

Mr Ong addressed this on his Facebook page, saying: “He claims I insulted him coz I addressed him as Sivalingam num-style in my last letter… but I told him that I didn’t mean that and it’s the coolest thing around now.”

If you read the contents of Daniel Ong’s letter for yourself, you’ll find it full of sarcastic insults, spite, fake LOLS and general meanness. From the way how this neighbourly spat has been overblown, it’s obvious that Sivalingam’s racist accusation is a pretext for filing against Ong’s nastiness and intolerance over a baby-tormenting and ‘old-lady murdering’ renovation project. As with his grudge against SPH, the ex-DJ has made his Facebook page his personal diary and broadcaster now that he’s gone from radio. Regardless of who’s at fault here,  this is really an exaggerated episode of neighbours thrashing it out over one ugly incident after another, culminating in a sensational turf war with a typical but ultimately futile standoff involving the police. I wonder what will become of these two once it’s Christmas.

It’s like two boys fighting in the playground and one threatening with his daddy because the other called him names and he had no comeback. The natural tendency in such testosterone-charged scuffles is for the one picked on to retort with a creative insult of his own, until both get tired of this one-upping nonsense and walk away. At least these two grown ups are civil enough not to bring their Mamas into it or roll around in the mud throwing punches. Conflicts of this sort are inevitable, no matter how we try to inculcate a ‘give and take’ culture, when in fact we’re mostly looking after our own interests and ‘community’ means running into that comfort zone and pacifier called Facebook where your ‘friends’ are obliged to support you all the way even if you’re acting like a child who just got his rattle nicked by a bully.

When it comes to a war of words, it’s unlikely that Sivalingam would get the upper hand over a cupcake king with the gift of the gab (Daniel even refers to himself as ‘FUNNY GUY” on his Twitter page), hence to counter his weakness in petty insult-trading, the big guns have to be summoned on a hot-potato issue (racism) just to show that he means business. I’m not even sure if this guy knows what Gangnam Style is, which may explain why he would consider the name-mashing a childish insult, maybe the equivalent of the Chinese ‘Tan Ah Kow’.  He does cut an imposing figure however, like a superintendent in the force, or someone who runs a butchery franchise and boxes hunks of meat in his spare time.  Daniel Ong (who once played ‘Mr Kiasee’ in the Mr Kiasu sitcom) will get his cupcakes SQUASHED if put in a ring with this bull of a man.

Don’t call him Gangnam

What’s worrying, and yet strangely assuring at the same time, is why our police EVEN BOTHER with such things (Assuring because it means our cops have nothing much to do). Well I suppose if they’re forced to investigate teachers who cut the hair of students without permission, this fight between an angry celebrity and his angry neighbour must seem as exciting as taking down rival triads in comparison. Gangs of Mei Hwan Drive perhaps. Still, this is what happens if you have public endorsement of the over-the-top censuring of anything mocking a minority race. You give people excuses to point fingers at the one thing that will get your enemies in trouble, when you’re really pissed off with them because they embarrassed you, not because they humiliated your race, your family, your ancestry and your gods.

Siva claims discrimination when Daniel Ong mashes up his surname with Gangnam style, while the latter explains the pun away as a reference to his ‘threatening’ stance with arms akimbo. Neither argument makes sense. I can’t imagine an aggressor doing this in a mano-a-mano confrontation, unless he’s trying to subdue you with laughter.

Please don’t hurt me. I’ll do anything

I suspect it’s harmless wordplay more than anything else, though these days dropping sly racial references is like tossing firecrackers on a minefield. Siva doesn’t have a case because Gangnam itself has already taken Indians by storm, and just about anyone with an Internet connection and doesn’t understand a single word of Korean.

Filed under: 2012, Bloggers, Local radio DJs, Noise, Police officers, Racism | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Amy Cheong blaming divorce on cheap Malay weddings

Posted on October 8, 2012 by gdy2shoez

From ‘Police report filed against Amy Cheong over offensive Facebook post’, 8 Oct 2012, article in Sg yahoo news.

Singapore police are investigating the former NTUC staff who was fired on Monday morning for her profanity-laced post insulting traditional Malay void deck weddings. A police report was filed against Amy Cheong, assistant director, membership department at labour movement NTUC, by a member of the public, Lionel Jerome de Souza on Monday morning.

De Souza is the secretary of Hougang’s Inter-Racial and Confidence Circle (IRCC), which comes under the purview of the Ministry of Community Development Youth and Sports. In his report, he urged the police to take a serious view of Cheong’s comments which “inevitably hurt the feelings of the Malays”.

In her post on Sunday evening, Cheong had put up a public status on her personal Facebook timeline, complaining about a Malay wedding that was being held at a void deck near her home. Among other things, she related Malay weddings to high divorce rates, and asked how society could “allow people to get married for 50 bucks”, peppering her post with vulgarities.

In a separate post, she also allegedly wrote, “Void deck weddings should be banned. If you can’t afford a proper wedding then you shouldn’t be getting married. Full stop.”

Unless calling a Malay an ‘asshole’ is considered a racial slur, I think this is more a case of carelessness and faulty logic than racism. There are, of course, people who don’t spend a cent outside the registration fee for marriage, and still live happily ever after. If Amy Cheong had complained about the noise rather than associating divorce rates with ‘cheap weddings’, maybe she would have just been let off with a stern warning without getting the sack. For someone who already lost her job, a police report seems like overkill, but for someone in senior management, Cheong should have known better, especially after so many incidents of Facebookers getting in trouble posting ‘silly’ remarks about Muslims, not to mention a certain filmmaker being dealt with death warrants for making a shoddy Internet film where the Prophet was played by an actor looking like Jesus. In such a charged climate of ‘anti-Islamic’ sentiment and its subsequent retaliation, it wasn’t so much a malicious, hateful remark, as it was a really bad idea. Of course our Facebook-savvy PM was quick to dish out the damage control by urging everyone not to let this incident ‘undermine our racial and religious harmony’. But maybe this is more a case of custom intolerance than a hate crime that nearly everyone is making this out to be. If I post on Facebook about ‘damned ding-dong-chiang lion-dancing’ during Chinese New Year, I would get the same treatment from the Chinese community too. Or would I?

Just last year, people were flamed for racial abuse after complaining about McDonald’s playing religious prayers during the fasting month, putting links to images of pigs Photoshopped on the Kabba, or calling kids on kindergarten buses little ‘terrorists’. But let’s see if high ‘divorce rates’ among the Malays is indeed a factual statement, and whether it’s in any way related to ‘$50 weddings’. According to a 2006 commentary by a Malay man, there are 3 typical reasons to explain the high divorce rates among Malays. One, the tendency of women to ‘fall in love’ too easily. Two, the cultural expectations of ‘short courting periods’ and thirdly, general ‘money problems’. In the same year statistics showed that divorcing Muslims stayed in a marriage shorter than non-Muslims (an average of 7.8 vs 10 years), and the most common reason for divorce was ‘personality difference’, followed closely by ‘infidelity’. Just this year, ‘infidelity or extra-marital affair’ took top spot as reason for divorce in Muslim marriages.  There would also be the pressure of ‘remarrying’ within two years as the community supposedly frowns upon single parents. Which suggests that money issues aside, there’s also a hint of  ‘fools rush in’ syndrome. So it’s not just about the ‘affordability’ of weddings that encourages failed marriages (This may well be a myth, you can be charged $1K to $6K just for PLANNING and DECOR alone). One may have to consider whether the union was failed in the first place.

Every once in a while we get annoyed by atrocious singing, throbbing drums, motorcycles chugging and horning, yelling and general littering amid the merrymaking, but I would make the same complaints against Chinese funerals even as a Chinese, just not making a fcuking ass of myself ranting on Facebook about it. I wonder how Amy Cheong would react if someone went:

How many f**king days do Chinese funerals in void deck go on for?F*ck!!!Pay for a real funeral you asshole!How can society allow dead people to lie in a dirty void deck? KNS!

I also stumbled upon a Twitter account of ‘Amy Cheong’ apologising to countless people. I doubt this is the real Amy Cheong, considering that her Twitter icon is that of Ted, the vulgarity spewing bear.

Filed under: 2011, 2012, Bloggers, HDB, Money, Racism, Religion, Weddings | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments »

Singaporeans will never give Gaw Yu Han a car

Posted on September 29, 2012 by gdy2shoez

From ‘Excuse me, can you buy me a sports car?’, 29 Sept 2012, article by Goh Shi Ting, ST

CALL him shameless or naive but a 20-year-old has sent more than 300 letters to the richest residents in Sentosa Cove asking for a “sports car sponsorship”. And as incredible as it may sound, he said 10 have responded to him within a week – though none has granted him his wish.

In a brief letter sent last Thursday, Mr Gaw Yu Han introduced himself, giving his name and age, before stating his purpose which was “the hope of finding a sponsor”. He said he likes cars and listed as his favourites Audi R8 Coupe, Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG and Honda CR-Z.

“May I have the courage to ask for a car as a gift from you?” he wrote. Owners of a Sentosa Cove property, he added, “must be a person of great success” and “it will be nice to know and perhaps learn from you”.

…”But I don’t like to ask my parents for money. I’d rather get a sponsorship,” said Mr Gaw, who has lived here for 13 years…”Anyway, I spent only five cents on a letter. And even if nobody offers a car, I can still make friends. It is important to network and have connections,” he said. “I don’t expect to give anything in return. What I can offer is casual friendship.”

So far, 10 Sentosa Cove residents, all Singaporeans, have contacted him, he claimed.

But they were more interested in finding out why he is doing this than buying him his dream car. One of them, a property developer known as Victor who owns two properties at Sentosa Cove, even arranged to meet him during the F1 race last Sunday and they chatted for 30 minutes, he told The Straits Times. Victor had asked about his background and even requested to see his identity card – but no promises were made.

“I could tell that he was not interested,” said Mr Gaw, who got his F1 ticket from an uncle.

“Singaporeans will never give me a car,” he said.

You’d probably have to forgive a 20 year old for trying to get something for nothing. After all, if Gaw could get a free F1 ticket, he may think that asking for a supercar is the next logical step. ‘Sponsorship’ doesn’t come cheap all the time. Gaw made no effort to justify why he’s entitled to a car, and without some sob story as a backdrop to emotionally manipulate the folks at Sentosa Cove, I don’t think his request would be entertained without the giver expecting something in return, something more than just ‘casual friendship’. I can only think of a few reasons why a lonely rich man would check the I/C of a 20 year old kid, in view of a number of rich people landing themselves in jail over underage sex. I don’t think the wealthy would want to associate themselves with LOSERS who go around begging people for stuff anyway. While I do agree that Singaporeans will NEVER give an able-bodied boy a car even if it were spare change to them, I doubt any self-respecting foreign billionaire would too. These people are rich, not STUPID. Gaw’s bid for a free car is as useful as sending letters to Santa’s elves in the North Pole, or wishing upon a falling star.

So how do you go about asking for a sponsorship and be successful without selling your kidney or your virginity? First, you have to be a popular female blogger with a flat chest. Qiu Qiu eventually got her wish for bigger cups fulfilled, though she later went back to normal ‘size’ and seems quite delighted with her ‘deflated’ self now. Or you could be a female blogger requesting for plastic surgery to boost your confidence like Peggy Heng.  But it’s all not just pretty girls with blogs that win the hearts and sympathy of the generous. Popular food blogger Bradley Lau (Lady Iron Chef) gets to dine at fancy restaurants for free too. Donors in these cases are rewarded with the gratification of their ‘sponsorship’ gone into fruition, whether it’s deeper cleavage, a prettier face, or a good word in a review. Anyone handing Gaw a powerful car risks being labelled the one responsible if he drives recklessly and kills people, himself included, in the process.

Gaw does not have the minimum reputation of a blogger, nor has he even made the effort to pitch a tragic life story of poverty and childhood abuse. You’re not going to achieve anything in life by just sending letters to rich people and hope for the best. And Sentosa Cove residents will not achieve anything in return by doing this guy a favour as insane as giving Osama Bin Laden a grenade launcher for his birthday. It’s an insult to the handicapped busking in underpasses, or anyone desperate for money with at least an ounce of TALENT to show for. So here’s some advice, Gaw: Start a blog, gain at least 1000 followers, spin some stories about being abused and bullied as a kid, that all your life you NEVER got a single birthday or Christmas present, or never even stepped into a car showroom, not to mention IKEA. And then maybe someone from Sentosa Cove, someone without the assumption that you’re soliciting something beyond casual friendship, someone perhaps just as NAIVE as you, someone who thinks handing a fast car to a mere kid is a good idea, may actually give a damn about your pathetic plea.

Filed under: 2000s, 2012, Bloggers, Local food, Money | Tagged: , , , | Leave a Comment »

Lawrence Wong’s heaviness of the heart

Posted on September 25, 2012 by gdy2shoez

From ‘Don’t let politics polarise us: Lawrence Wong’, 25 Seet 2012, article by Sujin Thomas, my Paper

While politics is important, Singaporeans should not end up in a situation where every activity or conversation in the country becomes politicised and where citizens are polarised by their political beliefs.

Senior Minister of State for Education and Information, Communications and the Arts Lawrence Wong yesterday cautioned against this, as well as a situation where Singaporeans are set against other Singaporeans based on creed or political affiliation.

In a post on his Facebook profile page, he said: “Politics can drive a wedge between us and divide our society.

“Or it can be a force for good, to bring our people together, and to build a stronger and better Singapore.”

He drew references to the visit by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and a TV forum with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, both of which took place over the past few weeks.

He said that he watched certain incidents unfold over the Internet, in relation to these events, with “some heaviness in my heart”.

(On a side note, this guy’s title is a ridiculous mouthful! ‘Senior Minister of State for Education and Information, Communications and the Arts’. There are as many words here as there are letters in LAWRENCE WONG. He’s HEAVY with responsibility too!)

Though to ‘politicise’ everyday issues has a negative ring to it these days, it’s something that we’ve been unwittingly doing way before Will and Kate’s visit, mainly because we’re a one-party dominant state which makes the PAP a visible and easy target to pin causality and responsibility upon. From the water you drink, the roof over your head, the bus you take to work right down to the air your breathe, there’s always something that you can associate the ruling party with simply because they’ve had their fingers in every pie for more than half a century.

But perhaps Lawrence Wong’s definition was more in relation to ‘taking sides’, or some form of subversion against the PAP, which treads closer to his bread and butter. Although his ‘heavy-hearted’ lament has drawn flak for being over-sensitive or even lacking a sense of humour, being ‘non-partisan’ was something the man did in fact demonstrate late last year, by inviting WP’s Yaw Shin Leong to be a member of a defence council. Wong said ‘defence is not a partisan issue, that we should not POLITICISE the defence and security of Singapore.’ Yaw has since faded from politics altogether after his alleged scandal, but at least having an Opposition member in a group like Accord was a step in the right direction, unlike the make-up of some National Conversation Committees we know. Or maybe it was just ‘wayang’ like the Royal Visit.

The most symbolic image of ‘politicising’ used to happen right before the very eyes of every Singaporean; the seating arrangements and attires of the PAP and Opposition parties at our National Day Parades. That was before the ruling party decided to ditch the all-white dress this year. So if PAP ministers like Wong wag a stern finger at you for being the source of ‘polarisation’, you could jolly well show him parade shots of NDP VIP stands in the past and say ‘Hey you guys started it first’, and point to that invisible WEDGE between PAP and WP members. You may also cite the PA’s ‘disinvite’ of MP Chen Show Mao from a hungry ghost dinner last year. Not to mention the PAP’s ‘preferential’ treatment towards their own GRCs compared to, say, Hougang.  NDPs, Seventh month, housing estates, all ‘politicised’ by none other than the PAP and their chums, like how we used to invite only the boys with the cool toys to our houses and ignore the rest. Real mature, guys.

PAP ‘politicising’ took on a different meaning in the eighties. Toh Chin Chye POLITICISED undergrad leaders at NUS, nudging them into developing an interest in political affairs. The PAP Youth Wing, as described by then Chairman Lee Hsien Loong, was designed to ‘POLITICISE’ and mobilise the next generation. ‘Politicising’ then was basically a euphemism for ‘recruitment drive’. Compare this to Transport Minister Raymond Lim’s comment in 2007 that bus fare hikes should NOT be ‘politicised’, which is basically a hands-off statement that the PAP had NOTHING to do with our misery. We need a more concise definition of ‘politicising’, a buzzword that has been abused, distorted and conveniently employed in a divisive or defensive context. Like Wong rightly pointed out, the defence of the nation should NOT be politicised, and likewise if Singapore ever embarked on a space program, offered humanitarian aid, or fell prey to a calamity like SARs, where we have to bond regardless of ‘affiliation’. Some things, however, need to be charged with a ‘political’ character in order to pull some weight. The haze, for example, is something you can only blame a government, whether it’s the Indonesian or Singaporean one for failure to take action.

So lighten up, Lawrence Wong, I’m not going to vote Opposition simply because I thought the Queenstown show and tell was overdone. In fact, I’m sure a number of PAP supporters thought it was worth a snigger too. Just because that royal visit was overstated doesn’t mean your Facebook complaints need to be either.

Filed under: 1980s, 2000s, 2012, Bloggers, Politicians | Tagged: , , | 2 Comments »

Archbishop’s letter harming social harmony in Singapore

Posted on September 20, 2012 by gdy2shoez

From ‘Archibishop slams Alex Au, anti-ISA organisers’, 20 Sept 2012, article by Teo Xuanwei, Today

The head of the Catholic Church here has criticised a blogger and the organisers of a rally against the Internal Security Act (ISA) over a blog post which suggested that he was pressured by the Government into retracting a letter he had sent expressing support for the event. The flap arose from Mr Alex Au’s lengthy critique on his blog – posted on Tuesday – of what he described as the Government’s “arm-twisting” of Archbishop Nicholas Chia.

Mr Au wrote that based on “second-hand” accounts, Archbishop Chia had sent a “warmly-worded” letter to the event organisers – civil society groups Function 8 and Maruah – only to later send a second letter to withdraw his statements, purportedly after pressure from the Government. Archbishop Chia said yesterday that he had decided to withdraw his letter because “on reflection, its contents did not accurately reflect my views on the subject, and if used in a manner that I did not intend, may inadvertently harm the social harmony in Singapore“.

According to Alex Au’s blog Yawning bread:

…In the warmly-worded letter, the archbishop expressed his support for the rally and, I am told, endorsed the call for the abolition of the law in question.

The blogger, who previously was coerced into removing posts for criticising the Law Minister and the AGC’s verdict on Woffles Wu, did not reveal who his sources were, and later claimed in his article that His Grace was called up to ‘lim kopi’ with DPM Teo Chee Hean. No one will know for sure if that ever happened, but it appears that past spats with members of Parliament and the authorites have failed to stop Alex from delivering scoop after scoop of incendiary insider news, undeterred by the possibility of being brought to task for ‘serious allegations’. One can still wonder, though, what exactly the Archbishop wrote that made him do a double-take, failing which his letter, once publicised, would have detrimental effects on our SOCIAL HARMONY. At most, you’d imagine a man of God asking for compassion and enlightenment in meting out hard and swift ‘justice’ on political firebrands, be they Marxists or what not. Nothing wrong with that, and I would expect a religious man to apply the same grace of God whether or not it’s ISA detainees or the man on the street, without ‘crossing the line’ into politics or stirring up a frenzy all over the country.

In the last GE, it was often the POLITICIANS themselves treading the fine line through their visits to places of worship, yet  nobody tells them off for mixing their dirty work with religion. Which makes separating religion from politics like keeping a dog away from a lamppost, especially when you’re giving a sermon on what some might refer to a crime against humanity. The Catholic Church indeed has an embittered history with the ruling party for sympathising with the said detainees, though the MHA refers to the relationship as a ‘long-standing’ one. In 1987, a mass was held for victims at the Church of the Risen Christ, at which, according to some fellow Catholics who were riled by the event for transgressing the political sphere, were supporters wearing ‘T-shirts with slogans’. According to a ST report on the 400-strong event, the shirts were yellow and bore the biblical quote ‘The Truth Will Set You Free’. Nothing will happen to you today if you wore such cliches out on the street, other than a wink and nod from fanboys of conspiracy theories and the X-files. It also sounds like a typical lyric from a K pop song with bits of English chorus in it.

Father Edgar D’Souza, one of the organisers of such masses, caught the attention of then PM Lee Kuan Yew, who had terrifying words for this ‘emotional’ show of support for individuals he deemed as violent terrorists.

If this is carried on, it may not be the next mass, it may not be the next statement but if feelings were aroused, if the agitation continued, THERE MUST BE A COLLISION.

The priest, along with 3 others, were later summoned by LKY to the Istana in a ‘closed-door’ meeting and reportedly threatened with arrest under the ISA for seemingly ‘subversive’ activities in invoking the name of God to rouse their clergy. LKY had also complained to the Archibishop Gregory Yong to keep his priests in check and not ‘engage in jousting’ on Government policies. Following the fateful meeting, the Archbishop suspended the 4 priests to avoid a ‘conflict or collision between the Church and State’, apparently under pressure by the PM. It then transpired that LKY had unleashed a litany of criticisms levelled at the Church and the Archbishop, and did not show due respect to the holy chief of churches. When a joint statement was read out by His Grace during the Istana meeting, LKY looked at his watch and asked ‘how long he was going to take’. But losing his frock wasn’t all for D’Souza; he was later embroiled in scandal with a ‘woman lawyer’. A certain Father Joachim Kang who spoke out on how the Archbishop was ‘cornered’ by the PM would be the same priest later arrested and jailed for misappropriating church funds worth $5 million.

So the current Archbishop’s withdrawal could certainly be a change of heart and playing it safe, bearing in mind what the previous Archbishop went through with LKY and the PAP, or, as Alex Au suggests, there was a touch of government nudging to ward off any ‘social disharmony’ that may arise from influential men speaking out on a ‘sacred cow’, a cow so old you could strip its leathery hide off its back and use it to whip people into submission immediately. His Grace later clarified that his first ‘letter’ was intended as ‘private communication’.  You’re the HEAD of the Catholic Church, and you’re writing to an activist group. Unless you’re inviting them to tea at church, anything written in the official capacity of a religious heavyweight to a group that names itself after a button on a keyboard is perhaps too BIG a deal NOT to get leaked, especially if it’s an E-mail. Let this be a lesson to all: If in doubt, use the ‘Recall’ button.

Of course the government understands the power of religion to sway the masses into irrational groupthink. There were probably more prayers whispered for Kong Hee than a decade’s worth of tsunami victims combined, and any force that could propel pastor Sun Ho into superstardom has the power to overturn archaic laws as well. In their fear of whipping up unwanted support for activist groups like Function 8, the Government’s hush-hush sessions with religious leaders on ‘sensitive issues’ have whipped up nothing but curiosity and speculation instead.

Filed under: 1980s, 2012, Bloggers, Politicians, Religion | Tagged: , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

In Chiobu We Trust extremely distasteful and vulgar

Posted on September 8, 2012 by gdy2shoez

From ‘Suggestive poses in exhibition distasteful’, 8 Sept 2012, ST Life!

(Koh Shimei Magdalene):I refer to the article Online Queen Bees Born To Pose (Life!, Aug 27), about an art exhibition called In Chiobu We Trust – A Pop-up Art Party.

Organised by the Chiobu Movement, the exhibition took place on Aug 31. I found some of the pictures exhibited of near nude girls in suggestive poses to be extremely distasteful and vulgar. The pictures featured in the article speak for themselves.

I take great offence to them as I feel they are insulting to the female gender. These days, it seems that anything and everything can be considered art, just by spinning a complex concept or story around it.

I am shocked and disappointed that no relevant authority has stepped in to comment or impose restrictions on this event. I would also like to suggest that art exhibitions be given viewership ratings similar to films.

In my opinion, Singapore society should not tolerate and encourage unhealthy subcultures to thrive, and we definitely cannot afford this to become a norm in our society as we have witnessed in Western countries. The effects are detrimental to nation building.

Nice Ass…mask

Magdalene Koh did not specify whether she actually attended ‘In Chiobu we Trust’, a ‘secret’ pop up party whose location was divulged in the Life! section of the ST.  Not sure how successful Chiobu turned out to be, with its build-up subdued by another ‘secret’ event held during the same period, Diner en Blanc. According to the article on Aug 31, Chiobu is a collection of photo submissions by ‘hipster’, social-media savvy females below 30 doing wild, cool stuff on road trips, the brainchild of photographer Alvelyn Koh (or Alko). It’s like someone compiling Instagram photos or Facebook profile pics and exhibiting them in an Indie gallery. It could have been called ‘In Camwhore We Trust’, though the writer above may think the use of that word alone will have a profoundly destructive effect on our ‘nation building’.

Check out this entry of a woman having an orgasm on a stone lion. I wonder if the Taoist Federation of Singapore has anything to say about this; the most sacred of temple guardians being defiled by straddling, moaning chiobus.

The jungle cannot sleep tonight

A senior SAM curator referred to these ‘chiobus’ as ‘an interesting SUB-CULTURE of young women who are ‘opinionated, fashionable and daring’, among whom must include ‘My Grandfather Road’ creator Samantha Lo. It also helps if you have a jazzy name that’s a combination of two proper names. The key members of this chiobu troupe are also popular bloggers; The girl in the donkey mask Tan Min Yi has a blog called “Psychological Romance’, as well as a Facebook portfolio with glam model shots of her wearing Red Indian headgear and sticking a gun in her mouth. Ang Geck Geck’s blog is a mouthful: ‘A Female Cat roars, Louder Than Before’, from which you may download her Chiobu video, a meditative celebration of femininity that seems to be inspired by Terrence Malick’s Tree of Life (both videos have SPARKLERS in them). Tree of Chiobus, perhaps. It also features some naked lesbians preening away to the hashtags of #dreams and #freedom. #Cool!

It’s not all about ladies in various states on undress or gay love though, Holly Graberek presented portraits of herself in a Mexican wrestler mask, a Bedouin bandit and as a VERY EVIL LOOKING JIA JIA PANDA. The stuff of nightmares, really. I can’t go to the River Safari after this. Ever.

Another submission has a subject planking face down in the Botanical Gardens in what appears to be a swimsuit, a typical prank shot which somehow qualifies as art. It looks like someone Photoshopped away the ‘Do not cross’ yellow police line around it.

This is both planking and Horseman-ing. Or Plorsing.

I did the same thing on the old Bukit Timah railway tracks once but it didn’t go viral on Facebook as I had hoped. Maybe it had something to do with the fact I was fully clothed, or more likely, I’m not a chiobu who uses emoticons that look like complex math algorithms, use the word ZOMG in my tweets, or insert the line ‘I am Chiobu, Hear me ROAARR’ in my email signature. But is the Chiobu movement solely for skinny photogenic waifs with fancy cameras? Would ‘plus-sized’ ladies posing nude in the name of art and charity be considered part of this ‘movement’ as well? How about those oversharing images of their buttocks for artist Amanda Heng?

The event itself, according to this review, was held in the dimly lit, cosy premises of book-cafe Pigeonhole. There’s also a couple of DJs in the house, yo! I’d imagine the playlist full of Lana Del Ray dubstep remixes.

God is a DJ, and so are these chiobus

It also puts AWARE in a difficult position to comment given the good intentions of the Chiobu movement. Just like ‘anything and everything’ can pass off as art, pouting to the camera semi-naked can also pass off as a powerful statement of self-expression. The word ‘chiobu’ itself is ironically derogatory to some women, a Singlish/Hokkien slang for ‘hot babe’, ‘chick’ or ‘shawty’.  But it helps that it’s ridiculously catchy, just like the Ladies’ card slogan ‘The Men Don’t Get It’. It wouldn’t have worked if the organisers called it ‘In Queen Bee We Trust’; that would sound to me like a gallery full of Bridezilla collages, in which case you don’t just need an age restriction; It should be totally MANDATORY that you forbid MEN to enter for health and safety reasons.

Vulgar or not, the cult of Chiobu is a sign that our arts community is very much alive and in vogue, that there are young edgy women out there pushing boundaries who give Vernetta Lopez a reason to sell her memoirs, though it does hint that it takes some eye-candy and soft-porn to tickle the Singaporean nerve for art. But what else is new? Has Magdalene heard about Josef Ng’s Brother Cane act? Or Indian artist T Venkenna sitting naked for hours and charging people to pose with him? Maybe they should have submitted the Chiobu Movement for the Venice Biennale instead. I mean, surely the Europeans can relate to chiobus in semi-Furry attire, eh?

It’s been a poor year for men in general, with many thrown in the slammer for underaged sex or corruption. In response to the Chiobu movement, maybe it’s time for the other sex to stand up and be counted. No, you don’t have to be Pan-Asian or ‘cool’, or pose on a windy beach for it, in fact, the more ‘uncle’ you are the better, whether you’re chillin’ with a Singha or hangin’ in Yangtze cinema. I’ll call it In Ah Peks We Trust.

Filed under: 2010, 2011, 2012, Art, Bloggers, Nudity, Sex, Singaporean women | Tagged: , , , , , | 4 Comments »

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